Environmental groups call for greater transparency in hydrogen hub process
A coalition of over a dozen Indiana environmental groups has asked for increased transparency and community involvement regarding a pending application to bring federal dollars to the Midwest for the development of a “hydrogen hub.”
The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act established a $9.5 billion DOE program to fund the development of hydrogen energy infrastructure across the country. Unlike fossil fuels, which release carbon and other pollutants when burned, hydrogen produces only water as a byproduct, making it a more environmentally friendly alternative to coal and other conventional fuels used in the steel industry, among other applications.
Hydrogen fuel is produced by using electricity to separate the hydrogen and oxygen that make up water, allowing it to store energy produced through the burning of fossil fuels or through renewable energy sources.
The Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen (MachH2), which brings together over 60 public and private entities across the region, submitted its application on April 7. The DOE will conduct preselection interviews with prospective funding recipients between late July and early August, with the announcement of between six and 10 funding awards to hydrogen hubs in the fall.
In a letter sent to the Department of Energy and a public relations firm representing MachH2, the activist groups, led by Indiana Conservation Voters, called for greater transparency and public engagement in the planning process for the proposed hydrogen hub. Signatories to the letter included representatives of Citizens Action Coalition, the League of Women Voters of Indiana, the Hoosier Environmental Council, the Environmental Law and Policy Center and Gary Advocates for Responsible Development.
The letter raised concerns about what its authors characterized as a failure to engage with Indiana-based community organizations.
“Despite repeated inquiries to MachH2 project leaders, all of our requests for a private meeting have been ignored,” the letter’s authors wrote.
The letter also raised concerns about the environmental impact of infrastructure that could be funded by DOE dollars, calling for “building new, additional renewable energy capacity, instead of exhausting existing fossil fuel resources that currently power homes, businesses, and industry.”
Neil Banwart, the managing director of the Indianapolis-based nonprofit Energy Systems Network and a leader in MachH2, said that the coalition has not publicly shared all the components of its plan, due to the competitive nature of the application process. The coalition has withheld many of the specifics of its proposal from the public, as have the other applicants, pending the DOE’s funding decisions.
Banwart stressed that the coalition includes a wide array of stakeholders, including businesses, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions, and that
“We do value the community’s input and have started down the path with the composers of the letter and we’re going to continue those conversations,” he said, adding that representatives from MachH2 plan to meet with Indiana Conservation Voters in July.
The MachH2 proposal has the backing of elected officials across both the region and the political aisle. U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, who represents the heavily polluted industrial zones of Northwest Indiana, has been a vocal advocate for a Midwestern hydrogen hub. In April he joined Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and other Indiana elected officials in calling on the DOE to choose MachH2 for funding.
“I welcome the engagement of environmental advocacy organizations and appreciate that they are lending their voice to this important topic,” he wrote in a statement to the Post-Tribune.
